Admission to the Legal Profession: What you should know

It certainly is an exciting time after completing university, completing your practical legal training (or supervised traineeship) and applying for admission as a legal practitioner.

It is the culmination of years of hard work, constant learning and pursuit of excellence (and perhaps some late nights) which is a feat in itself.

The last hurdle to overcome is to comply with the requirements of an application for admission as a legal practitioner, and to obtain the approval of the court.

The Queensland Law Society provides ‘admission kits’ for both practical legal training students and supervised trainees. At the time of drafting this article, the Queensland Law Society’s admission kits can be accessed using the following link: https://www.qls.com.au/Legal-Practitioners-Admissions-Board/Admission-kits

At Potts Lawyers we are well versed with assisting clients with their admission as a legal practitioner. Apart from the strict compliance with the rules relating to admission, the most common issues we have encountered include:

1. Failing to provide adequate disclosure to the court on suitability matters;

 

2. Failing to disclose suitability matters;

 

3. Failing to demonstrate that the applicant is a fit and proper person at the time of their admission;

 

4. Not obtaining independent legal advice about an applicant’s prospect for admission in relation to their suitability matters prior to applying for admission.

This article will provide a general overview about what an applicant should know about the common issues above prior to applying for admission as a legal practitioner. This article should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you are seeking legal advice to rely upon, you should independent legal advice as soon as possible.

If you are an applicant with any concerns regarding their suitability matters, you should obtain independent legal advice prior to filing your application for admission and filing your affidavit of compliance.

We offer a non-obligation twenty (20) minute consultation to discuss your matter generally. You can contact our firm on 07 5532 3133 to speak with one of our firm’s litigation lawyers.

Admissions Process Generally

Generally, the admissions process entails:

At least 28 days before admission:

1. Filing an original application in the Supreme Court Registry and serving a sealed copy on the Admissions Board;
2. Displaying a notice of intention to apply in the Supreme Court Registry;
3. Serving certified copies of your statement of eligibility and suitability, supporting documents including LL.B/JD, academic transcript, PLT certificate or supervised training certificate;
4. If you are on a supervised traineeship, a response statement and supervisor’s statement;
5. Copies of your certificates of suitabilty

At least 14 days before admission

6. File your affidavit of compliance in the Supreme Court Registry and serve a sealed copy of it on the Admissions Board

Two days before admission

7. Obtain a certificate of recommendation from the Admissions Board.

The day before admission

8. Check the Daily Law List (https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/daily-law-lists/daily-law-lists) to see what time your admission ceremony is listed for.

In addition to the above, the applicant must nominate a mover prior to the admission ceremony.

It is important that prior to filing the originating application (i.e. the first step) in the Supreme Court Registry that the applicant is aware of the application process and if there is any concerns or doubts that they are addressed by seeking independent legal advice prior to filing this application.

Failing to provide adequate disclosure of suitability matters

The Queensland Law Society has ‘disclosure guideline for applications for admission’. At the time of writing this article that guide can be accessed here: https://www.qls.com.au/Content-Collections/LPAB/LACC-Disclosure-Guidelines

What will usually happen if a person is alleged to have provided inadequate disclosure of their suitability matters is that the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board will provide a letter of recommendation to that effect, which usually comes a few days before the applicant’s admission.

This means that the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board will very likely be contesting the applicant’s admission at the time of their admission ceremony.

In our experience, this issue often arises where an applicant has provided a watered-down version of their suitability matters or has failed to provide fulsome disclosure.

An applicant who receives a letter of recommendation to this effect should seek independent legal advice as soon as possible.

Failing to disclose suitability matters

Another common issue appears to be that applicant’s will fail to disclose a suitability matter as required by the rules relating to admission to the legal profession.

Whatever the reason, if an applicant has not strictly complied with the requirements to disclose any of the suitability matters, this may attract grave consequences.

It is critically important that if you are in this position that you seek independent legal advice as soon as possible.

Failing to demonstrate that the applicant is a fit and proper person

The notion of whether an applicant is a ‘fit and proper’ person is one part of the same test which also requires the applicant to be of ‘good fame and character’ at the time of their admission. This is the legal test which is applied to the person’s application for admission by the court.

In other words, if the court is not satisfied that an applicant is not a fit and proper person at the time of their admission, the applicant’s admission will be refused.

If an applicant’s admission is refused, it is possible to re-apply for admission at a later date, however this depends on the individual circumstances of a particular matter.

Again, if you are in this position, you should seek independent legal advice as soon as possible.

Not obtaining advice about suitability matters prior to admission

Despite completing the requisite studies and complying with the rules relating to admission, some applicants will have contentious suitability issues that may impact on their application to admission.

This usually depends on the nature of the suitability matter and other factors, and depending on the nature of their suitability matter may be better off delaying their application for admission.

In most cases, it is very much possible to overcome contentious suitability matters. A common suitability matter we see is academic misconduct at university. It is important to seek competent independent legal advice prior to the filing an application for admission as there may steps which should be taken prior to the application.

Conclusion

This article highlights the common issues we have observed in relation to client’s issues with their application for admission as a legal practitioner.

It is clear that if you find yourself in one of the above positions, or if you are seeking assistance with preparing your materials for your admission, that you should seek independent legal advice as soon as possible.

We offer a non-obligation twenty (20) minute consultation to generally discuss your matter. You can contact our firm on 07 5532 3133 to speak with one of our firm’s litigation lawyers.

This article will provide a general overview about what an applicant should know about the common issues above prior to applying for admission as a legal practitioner. This article should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you are seeking legal advice to rely upon, you should independent legal advice as soon as possible.